Google is Phasing Out the Broad Match Modifier Match Type

Google is Phasing Out the Broad Match Modifier Match Type

by | Feb 24, 2021 | Business Intelligence & Analytics, General, Insights

Google is Phasing Out the Broad Match Modifier Match Type

&Marketing, and marketing, outsourced marketing strategy

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Google’s roller coaster ride is at it again! In early February, advertisers opened their email only to be surprised with Google’s latest update. In a bold move, Google Ads is removing one of the most popular keyword match types. Starting now, Google will begin gradually including broad modified match (BMM) type behavior into their new version of phrase match. By July 2021, Google will have finished phasing out the use of the broad match modifier match type, and they will act solely as the new phrase match.

Why is This Change to Google BMM Match Type Important?

The BMM match type has been the cornerstone of the account structure for many advertisers, and for some, this is a pretty big deal that will require an account structure overhaul. Instead of focusing on word order combinations, advertisers have been able to use the BMM type to capture traffic with queries containing specific words, but not specific to word order or intent. It has allowed more control over the advertiser’s interpretation of user intent and didn’t rely on Google’s interpretation, which often brought in traffic the advertiser didn’t find relevant. Google is letting us know this change is going to reduce the irrelevant traffic and improve both the user and advertiser experience. They will no longer blindly match a search query to a keyword without consideration of the intent of the search.

To understand this better, let’s take a look at the example below. Of course an advertiser for accounting services isn’t going to want to show “What services do accounting firms offer?” But once the advertiser sees this query, they can add it as a negative keyword and not worry about that search again, while also still capturing impressions for “services for accounting nearby” — which may not have shown with a phrase match type.

So What Does &Marketing Think of This Change?

This will definitely have an impact on how we structure our keywords and accounts, but overall, we are looking forward to the change! While there may be an adjustment period, we are here for it and rolling with the updates. Google is an always-changing goliath, and a successful one at that. Their goal is to deliver relevant search results and ads to their users. If they don’t provide that, people won’t want to use their site or pay for their advertising, and they will lose money.

After this update, Google’s direction is crystal clear. Google is focusing on user intent and website experience. How can we tell?

Here are a few of Google’s biggest and most recent moves:

  1. GA4: the new Google Analytics Property that focuses almost entirely on user engagement on a website.
  2. Removing a large volume of search query visibility, making it more difficult to see what queries were triggering the ads and keywords.
  3. Using the user’s page experience as a stronger part of their ranking algorithms.

While some advertisers are frustrated by this steady loss of granular control, &Marketing is looking forward to helping our clients better understand their customer’s search intent and website performance, which will avoid any negative repercussions with this ever-changing Google Ads landscape.

This may all make you wonder, is it possible that you’re been wasting money on ad spend this entire time? Find out with our no-obligation and free Paid Search Inefficiencies Audit and find out where you’re wasting your ad spend.

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About &Marketing

&Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

10 Things to Add to Your 2021 Content Marketing Strategy

10 Things to Add to Your 2021 Content Marketing Strategy

by | Feb 16, 2021 | Business & Marketing Strategy, General, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution, Storytelling & Branding

10 Things to Add to Your 2021 Content Marketing Strategy

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Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to build brand awareness, gain trust and traffic, and convert new customers. If you aren’t leveraging this tactic in 2021, it’s time to rethink your marketing approach and see where you can incorporate content. We’re here to help with some ideas for your 2021 content marketing strategy.

If you’re already implementing a content strategy, keep what’s working for you and improve what isn’t. We know growing businesses may not have the resources to completely reimagine a brand new content marketing strategy. Instead, you can add some new approaches or re-examine old ones. Here are 10 suggestions for ways to better your content marketing strategy in 2021 without stretching your budget.

10 Things to Add to Your 2021 Content Strategy

1. Audience Segmentation

Not everyone who consumes your content wants the exact same thing. By dividing your audience into groups based on where they are in their journey and what they’re interested in that you have to offer, you can create targeted content designed to give people what they like, and avoid sending them what they don’t.

2. Target Your Specific Audiences

To do this, you need to make sure you know your prospective (and existing) customers like the back of your hand. What do they want, what obstacles are they trying to overcome? What makes them happy, and what keeps them up at night? Then, you can understand what exactly they are looking for so you can tailor your content to their needs.

A great way to do that is with keyword research. See what the current demand for your topic is with Google Trends or tools like SEMRush and UberSuggest, and use them to guide what you create.

3. Keep Your Content Up-to-Date

As time passes, content naturally becomes outdated. To ensure your readers will still be gaining something from your content, you have to periodically go through and update information. Start with your most popular posts that are six months old or older, then work your way down.

4. Create Content Based On Your Core Values

One of the most important things content marketing does is build your brand. Your audience gets the chance to develop a relationship with your business. With content based on your core values, you can continue to develop that relationship, showing your audience what is important to you and what their experience with your company will be like.

5. Stay Flexible

As you deploy your updated content marketing strategy, stay flexible. Be ready to receive feedback, measure effectiveness, and make tweaks.

On the whole, content marketing requires adaptability. The digital landscape is constantly changing, and new avenues for marketing are always being created. To stay competitive, you have to keep on top of the latest trends and always be ready to adapt.

6. Conduct a Competitor Analysis

Your competition can tell you a lot about how you can improve your content marketing. Take a look at what they’re doing, see what’s working and what isn’t, and integrate the successful techniques into your strategy.

Google has many automated tools that allow you to take a good look at your competition, and other sites (like UberSuggest mentioned above) do, too. No matter what tool you use, your goal is to see what approaches you can start using for your own business. Don’t steal! Just use it as inspiration to fill in any gaps and create something even better.

7. Create High-Quality Content

Regardless of what kind of content you’re creating, you want it to be great quality. Your audience isn’t going to stick around for boring or unhelpful content. While content marketing is marketing, your primary goal is to build trust and offer value. Whether you’re providing entertainment, education, statistics, stories, or tutorials, your content has to give something generous to your audience.

8. Create a Content Calendar

A lot of content marketers take it one piece of content at a time, reactively instead of proactively. However, this can make it really hard to track the effectiveness of your content and to successfully market it.
Instead, create a comprehensive calendar to track and measure all of your activity ahead of time. Plan out what content you’ll create and when you’ll publish it. With a calendar, you will have a well-thought-out, long-term strategy. Plus, when you work ahead, your content will be ready to go when you need it.

9. Try New Types of Content

If you are able, an excellent way to reach new audiences is with other types of content. There are hundreds of types of content out there, and changing up what you’re producing every now and then will help boost your audience’s interest. It also allows you to keep your content fresh and explore new avenues of content marketing. If you’re only writing blogs, try turning some of them into infographics, or checklists and templates you can use as a lead generator (something you offer in exchange for a reader’s contact information). Usually write long-form think-pieces? Try a listicle, like this want. Whatever you do, make it helpful, switch it up, and let your brand personality shine.

10. Final Thoughts

With a great 2021 content marketing strategy, your business can bring in more leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Want even more guidance on exactly how to execute an effective and impactful content strategy? Download our eBook below.

    Download the ebook
    About the Author

    Content Manager and Copywriter Beth McDonough brings nearly a decade of professional writing and editing to the team at &Marketing. With extensive experience in an array of fields that range from entertainment publications to a Fortune 500 energy company, Beth has the ability to produce written content that speaks directly to the needs of a breadth of clients and channel their brand personality into a compelling story.

    About &Marketing

    &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

    How a Solopreneur Broke Through the Marketing Noise With &Marketing U

    How a Solopreneur Broke Through the Marketing Noise With &Marketing U

    by | Feb 4, 2021 | &Marketing U, Business & Marketing Strategy, Case Studies, Marketing Planning & Execution

    How a Solopreneur Broke Through the Marketing Noise With &Marketing U

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    As a seasoned career and executive coach who launched his own operation after 25 years at Johnson & Johnson, Ken Sher understands the dilemma well. After deciding to leverage his expert coaching and leadership skills to help people find their next job opportunity, Ken realized he needed to sharpen his marketing skills to grow his business.

    Like so many solopreneurs, Ken struggled to find enough time in his day to keep up with the ever-changing digital marketing trends and tools. He described most of his marketing efforts as “doing things as they came up” and felt like his hard work amounted to a “scattershot approach” that lacked consistency. Sound familiar?

    It wasn’t that Ken didn’t know what to do, it was that he didn’t know how to do it. As Ken felt his marketing knowledge plateau, he knew he needed help taking his small business to the next level. When he learned &Marketing was launching a pilot program called &Marketing U that offered the tools, education, and accountability he needed to take his marketing game up a notch, he was in.

    Throughout the program, Ken gained foundational marketing knowledge and learned how to apply that knowledge to his specific marketing needs through:

    • Honing his messaging
    • Implementing SEO best practices
    • Creating a content marketing strategy

    Today, marketing your brand is more important than ever as people are extremely discerning regarding where they spend their money. This program is great in showing you how to build and execute a marketing plan that is based on developing a winning message, targeting the right audience, tracking the impact of your efforts and leading to increased sales… I highly recommend it to any company who is looking to improve their marketing efforts without the major expense of investing in building or expanding their marketing department.

    Ken Sher

    By tracking all of this in a comprehensive marketing calendar, Ken was able to align and execute all of his efforts consistently. This made it easy for Ken to know exactly what to do every day to keep things moving forward.

    Since enrolling in &Marketing U and working through each of the modules, Ken reported a major uptick in both LinkedIn activity and requests for meetings. He found so much success in applying the foundations and focusing his efforts that his calendar is now completely full, and his business revenue goals are within reach.

    “In less than a month after finishing the course, my calendar is fully booked. The clarity and consistency I received from &Marketing U helped me gain more traction and reach more prospective clients.” 

    Ken Sher

    No individual has the bandwidth to stay on top of the changing trends all the time — yet so many one-person marketers are expected to. We created &Marketing U because we know it feels impossible to stay on top of the best trends and tactics, know where your time and energy should go, and execute in a way that works with the time you have.

    We know a little direction from the right people can go a long way, so we designed this program so help making doing it all not seem so daunting. We have distilled the most effective marketing strategies and tools into bite-sized lessons that make a big impact so that no matter how much extra time or budget you have — you can grow your small business like Ken did.

    If you’re a one person marketing department or solopreneur, we invite you to enroll in &Marketing U. You’ll learn exactly how to create and execute a concrete marketing plan to grow your business for a fraction of the cost of hiring a marketing agency or new employees.

    Want to sample our course materials first? Download our content marketing eBook or watch our webinar where &Marketing U’s team of expert coaches share valuable tips about developing and implementing a marketing program in 2021, specifically for “solo marketer” businesses.

    Enroll Now

    P.S – Know someone who is looking for their next career opportunity? Reach out to our &Marketing U alumni at ken@shercoaching.com and get a complimentary coaching session from Ken.

    About &Marketing

    &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.

    Are you facing challenges of your own in generating leads and meeting your business’ growth goals?

    We’d love to learn more about your challenges and how a coordinated marketing approach might help take your organization to the next level.

    6 Ways to Tell Your Sales Training is Stale

    6 Ways to Tell Your Sales Training is Stale

    by | Feb 3, 2021 | Business & Marketing Strategy, Insights, Marketing Planning & Execution

    6 Ways to Tell Your Sales Training is Stale

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    We have learned many times over the years that the collaboration between sales and marketing is critical. When it’s working, communication is strong and results are aligned. When it’s not, fingers are pointed, blame is cast, and the business suffers. With that in mind, we invited our friend and advisor, John Durso, CEO of Brilliant Sales Strategies, to provide some thoughts on how to reinvigorate a stale sales department.

    Even the best sales teams have off days, but when those off days drag on longer than usual, it could be a red flag your sales training is stale. If you suspect your sales team is struggling, check out our list of six signs your sales force is in need of a reset. We even included actionable steps to help them overcome the sales slump.

    6 Ways to Tell Your Sales Training is Stale (And How to Fix It)

    1. Not Doing Enough Research

    Prospecting is like fishing. A seasoned fisherman knows in order to catch a certain fish, they need to get a few critical questions answered first. Likewise, a good salesperson knows the value in getting as much information about their prospect as possible Just like a fisherman needs to know what type of bait to use and where the fish swims, understanding a prospect well enough to know what “bait” (i.e., call, email, in-person meeting, etc.) to use and where to use it is critical. If you suspect your sales team is lacking in intel, here are some tips for researching your target customer.

    • Look up the company’s website and gather information from their About Us and Media pages. You can use this information as an ice breaker.
    • Google the company to see if they have recently been in the news, good or bad.
    • Look the company up on LinkedIn to see who you know that can connect you.
    • Reach out to your network and determine the best person to make an introduction for you (this is ideal), or who will let you drop their name in your correspondence.
    • Once on their LinkedIn page, try to determine their personality profile. This will inform your method and “bait.” For example, most CFOs and CPAs have a high element of calculation in their personality, so they will respond positively to an email that has details, research, facts, figures, spreadsheets, etc. Whereas a CEO or salesperson might have a high element of drive in their personality, so providing them with too much info will backfire.

    Extra tip: Adding the app Crystal Knows to your Google Chrome LinkedIn experience is critical for salespeople today. This plugin will analyze the language on your prospect’s LinkedIn page and give their opinion as to the DISC personality profile of the prospect, giving you advice as to how to proceed with your communication tactics.

    If your sales team is struggling to understand their target customer and how they behave, they are likely casting their net too wide, fishing in the wrong lake, or using the wrong bait. A smart salesperson understands the need to take a more targeted approach in order to catch the right fish.

    2. Doing Too Much Talking

    If you are presenting your value proposition before learning anything about the prospect, and essentially taking over the meeting, you will lose the deal almost every time.

    In your initial discovery meeting, lead the conversation by allowing the prospect to speak first and explain their business. In addition to the questions you normally ask to uncover if they may be a fit for you, you should ask other interesting questions like, “Why do you do what you do?” and “What motivates you to get out of bed each day?” These questions will yield many clues to their personality and give you guidance on how to present your value proposition to them.

    3. Not Networking

    In today’s world, the excuse that “networking events are canceled so there are no opportunities” no longer works. The world of virtual networking is on fire. There are opportunities to attend virtual networking events almost every day, and the organizations putting them on are getting really good at making them a valuable use of time.

    I recently secured appointments with 100% of the people I did not know on a networking event held via Zoom. This is important to note because there is no way you can get an appointment with 100% of the people you don’t know at an in-person event.

    4. Not Making LinkedIn Part of the End of Every Purchase

    The most effective (and least expensive) marketing tool is a referral. Connecting on LinkedIn with customers who love you is a great way to generate an instant referral business. In your connection request, remember to write a message that addresses why you are connecting.

    For example:
    “Hi Ken, Please connect with me? I am looking to grow my business and knowing how happy you are with my service, I’m hoping you can introduce me to some of your friends who may need my services as well.”

    5. Recycling Emails and Presentations

    Nothing kills an opportunity faster than sending a prospect an email with the wrong company name, especially if a competitor. I recommend taking the time to write each email and each presentation with the prospect in mind. It doesn’t have to be completely from scratch, but care should be taken for each situation. If the prospect feels like they are just a number and are not individual or special, your odds go down.

    6. Your Sales Team Does Not Know WHY Your Company Exists

    If your sales team can not explain WHY your company exists, then there is a lot of work to be done. When given a choice between two companies who are identical in service and price, it comes down to the skill of the salesperson to educate the prospect on WHY they should choose us over them. The message is very powerful.

    A great example is The Monkey’s Uncle, a simple T-shirt shop in Doylestown, PA. They do not outwardly communicate WHY their store exists, yet you instantly see WHY their store exists the moment you walk in the door.

    A normal t-shirt shop’s elevator pitch sounds like this “Hi I’m Derrick Morgan, owner of the Monkey’s Uncle. We sell high-quality t-shirts with old logos of your favorite sports teams and retro concert posters for kids and adults. Want to buy one?” Not bad right?

    Now if we lead with WHY they exist, the pitch completely changes. “Hi I’m Jeanell Morgan, co-owner of Monkey’s Uncle. We strive to always support our community, little leagues, and favorite local causes. One of our biggest passions is the ongoing mentoring programs for the special needs community. We partner with our local school districts to advocate and support students of all abilities and their access to obtaining real life job skills. We are a retro inspired sports boutique. We sell pretty amazing tee shirts from babies to babes, and dudes to dads – this is the most fun your closet will ever have. Want to buy a t-shirt?”

    An easy way to find your why is to first ask your team “What do we do?” then “How do we do it?” Pretend you are a 5-year-old child and continuously ask “WHY” until you get to the answer.

    Getting out of a sales slump takes an active, focused effort. If any of these red flags ring true for your sales team, it’s time for some honest feedback. Remember that even the most seasoned salesperson can find their process and training becomes stale. It happens. The important part is recognizing when it does so you can review your sales process and figure out where you’re getting stuck.

    If you want to learn more ways to identify sales technique areas of concern, and ways to get the team back on track, reach out to John Durso of Brilliant Sales Strategies and schedule a short virtual meeting JDurso@BrilliantSalesStrategies.com

    About the Authors

    John Durso, a student of the Disney Institute of Business Excellence, he holds a degree in Organizational Leadership from Eastern University, and through his 22 year career in banking he has helped hundreds of small businesses and nonprofit organizations become more successful in their company culture, leadership development, and sales.

    About &Marketing

    &Marketing provides the robust outsourced marketing department growing companies need without the high overhead costs of big agencies or full-time employees. Our variable model empowers businesses to reach their growth goals through access to the guidance and expertise of senior level strategists and a flexible execution team.